"Why does he have to be abandoned?"-surrogate mother of Down's syndrome baby

Saturday, August 02, 2014 - 01:15

Australian couple leave a Down's syndrome baby with his Thai surrogate mother but take his twin sister -- Australian media. Gavino Garay reports.

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Abandonment by an Australian couple... after they leave a baby with Down's syndrome with his surrogate mother in Thailand, but keep his twin sister.
The Thai surrogate mother says she agreed to become a surrogate because the nearly $15,000 USD was hard to turn down.
(SOUNDBITE) (Thai) SURROGATE MOTHER, PATTHARAMON JANBURI SAYING:
"Because of the poverty and debts and the money that was offered was a lot for me."
Australian media reports that four months into the pregnancy, doctors discovered that the boy, named Gammy, had the disease.
The Australian couple reportedly asked the mother to abort the pregnancy altogether, but the mother chose not to, saying it was against Thai culture.
(SOUNDBITE) (Thai) SURROGATE MOTHER, PATTHARAMON JANBURI SAYING (OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 7-9) :
"The boy, this is the adults' fault and who is he to have to endure something like this even though it's not his fault? Why does he have to be abandoned when the other baby has been taken care of? Why does he have to go through all the hardships? I've brought him here now it's better than leaving him. I love him, I've been carrying him for nine months. He's like my child now."
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, TONY ABBOTT SAYING:
"I guess it illustrates some of the pitfalls involved in this particular business. It's a very, very, sad story and I hate to think that, you know, a child could be abandoned like that."
Some $93,000 dollars has been raised in Australia to take care of the baby boy.